I recently decided to exchange a load of On30 stuff for a new toy, one of the Slater's WDLR Baldwin kits in 16mm scale. This was going to stay in the box until I had finished the GLS30 diesel http://gn15.info/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=10230 and finished painting Henry Ford plus his mates.The Baldwin was brought home one Saturday about two weeks ago, and my willpower lasted until the following Tuesday. Some people have no self control Just a few bits out of the box to look at can't do any harm I said to myself, but before I knew it the frames were test assembled with a few of the 90 or so 14BA nuts and bolts, and the bogie was fully assembled. This thing is going to be huge - it is already overflowing from its box and it is only partially built.

Goodness knows how much of the loco would be put together by now if I was really weak willed Does anyone else get side-tracked as easily as me?

Wow those models are something! I just drooled all over their 20HP Simplex, but funds have to go into a classical guitar at this time. Otherwise.................it is a good thing I don't live in Britland.David (Doc)

David (Doc)Fairhope, AL USAAfter extensive recalculation, I have determined that the meaning of life is NOT 42! The secret of life, however is "enjoying the passage of time" (James Taylor)

These are some BIG bits of metal making up the frames. I had to use a blowtorch to solder them together and add the spring castings as my resistance soldering unit was not quite up to the job.I modified the chassis and axle boxes to take working coil springs and the alterations have resulted in very good track holding. The frames were shoved round my club test track by another loco at high speed without falling off Wheels are currently in the 'Okey-Cokey' stage (in, out, in, out shake them all about) as there is a bit more soldering to add the brake gear and motion brackets, then the frames need painting. Can't wait for the wheels to go in permanently as I usually manage to lose one of the coil springs every time they come out. I reckon NASA could strap them to the bottom of rockets as the £$%^&*@ things seem to go orbital!

Its going to be a long term project, as there are a lot of details to add, and I want to make the valve gear adjust to the direction of travel. Does anyone know how to operate a servo from the lighting outputs of a DCC decoder? The idea is forward light output on, valve gear in full forward; rear light output on, valve gear in full reverse; light outputs off, valve gear in mid-gear.

Something must have gone wrong, as I managed to get the airbrush out on a nice warm dry day without being dragged off for 'more important' tasks like mowing the lawn. Makes a nice change from trying to spray paint around in the winter The Baldwin's frames have been painted, and a start has been made on some of the plate work for the body.I could not resist a test assembly of the footplate, cylinders and boiler.

Nearly a year from the last update on the Baldwin marathon, and there has been some progress.The motion has been completed; this took about 12 hours of fiddling and fettling per side. Definitely not a "shake the box" or a beginner's kit. The loco runs very smoothly and the track holding is excellent with the springing modifications I carried out.The plate work for the cab and bunker has been put together, and my wife is now wondering exactly where I am going to put the model when it is finished. This thing is huge, I should have stuck one of my Gn15 Bagnalls alongside it for a size comparison:

The large squares on the cutting mat are 50mm, so that should give you some idea of the model's size. Note the now traditional wife's cardigan over the chair in the background I added some 1mm 'D' section for the cab beading in place of the flat etch supplied in the kit as I did not fancy the idea of trying to file a consistent radius on the etch:

The cab interior has been dressed up with some angle in the corners and a bit of scrap etch to represent the piece over the join between the cab front sheets:

The next little jobs (if you can call any job on this bruiser of a model little) will be to glue the boiler parts together, bolt the cab on, then make the weighshaft. I have got a small servo to operate the weighshaft to lift the radius rods, and have found that a Zimo MX644 decoder can be used to operate it. Nearly forgot that I also need to make the vacuum brake valve and extend the cab roof as I intend to finish the model as the Welsh Highland Railway's 590.Now all I need to do is find some time in between work and all those "important" jobs that need doing in the garden